Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $102.12.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,758,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,660,749,000 after buying an additional 455,198 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 18.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,009,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,186,651,000 after buying an additional 5,269,140 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after acquiring an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $912,375,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,447,000 after acquiring an additional 993,328 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $91.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $91.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.31. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.